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Epilogue: Leap of Faith

Three months.

It was ridiculous and amazing and wonderful to Tony that it had only been just over three months. Three months since he had looked down to see Peter attaching Rhodey to him with a web...three months since Peter had plummeted from the sky, arm outstretched, fingers twitching to make a web that never came. Three months since the boy's head had bounced off the tarmac and three months since Rhodey had screamed and pulled his mask off and three months since the boy had lain on the ground, unresponsive, a line of blood trailing from his nose.

Tony had to shake his head, forcing his thoughts away from that day. Beside him at the kitchen counter in the tower, Peter was eating Thai food with abandon, closing his eyes and humming at the taste. He'd gotten out of school just half an hour earlier, and was at the tower for his internship. It was something they'd established after Peter had returned home to his aunt. The kid came over on Fridays after school (and a couple of times on other days after school when Tony would pick him up and take him to dinner or ice cream before taking him to the tower.

All plans to sell the tower had been scrapped. In fact, Peter now had two guest rooms...one at the compound and one at the tower.

Things with Steve were getting...better. Somewhat. Ross was dragging his feet when it came to negotiating the Accords, but Tony had gone over his head more than once and was slated to speak before the UN soon. He had high hopes that he'd be able to convince everyone involved, including Steve and the representatives at the United Nations, that the Avengers could remain a team and accept some form of regulation.

Sam and Natasha were staying at the compound, along with, as of a few days before, Steve. Wanda was still hesitant to move back in, but Tony had sent a message via Natasha that she was welcome to. That they were going to fix this. That she was still an Avenger. Steve asked about Peter a lot, texting Tony to check on his progress, and Tony knew that Sam had been keeping him and the others updated.

After this all blew over, he wanted to get the team together. To introduce them to the kid. Because he wanted Peter to be part of the team one day. Maybe not just yet...he wasn't sure Peter was ready yet. Sure, he was strong and fast and a hell of a superhero already, even without training, but Tony wanted him to stay on the ground for a little while. Keep on helping the little guy. Then, after some training and some more mentoring, Spiderman could join the team. Still, even if Peter wasn't an official Avenger just yet, Tony wanted him to meet the team. Train with them once he was ready to train again. Entertain him during team meetings.

Speaking of training, that was why Peter was sitting beside him at the kitchen counter, shoveling Thai food into his mouth. He'd asked to be cleared for Spiderman-ing a week after he'd been allowed to go home, but that had been a hard no from both Sam and Tony. Peter had mostly finished with physical therapy, but Sam still wanted to keep an eye on him and had insisted Peter wait a while before he was allowed to go back to patrolling.

Tony had asked Peter about telling May the truth, but Peter had been adamant that they not worry her anymore...that he couldn't freak her out like that. Not after everything she'd been through. So, allowing Peter to make that decision on his own, Tony had stuck with the internship story, which was why May thought that Peter was at the tower for his usual internship, rather than a test drive of his suit upgrades and maybe some light patrolling.

Once Peter was finished eating, he threw his take-out containers in the trash, then practically vibrated in place as he stared at Tony, his whole face hopefully and somewhat worried. As if Tony would change his mind now. "Alright, Pete. You ready?" He asked, bringing his hand up to the boy's neck and squeezing a little. Peter nodded, eyes huge.

"Yeah! Let me get my suit!" He cried, turning and hurrying off toward his bedroom, and Tony had to chuckle as he watched him. Peter could run. A little over three months after plummeting to what could have been his death, Peter was running to his bedroom.

Tony swallowed hard, wiping a hand over his face and taking a long drink of his water, trying to compose himself. Peter was fine. The kid was fine. Three months after a near-death experience and a traumatic brain injury and the boy was talking and running and laughing and leaning against Tony when the man would throw an arm around him, head resting against his chest and Tony hadn't thought that he would ever be the kind of man to hug a teenager that he was mentoring...or the kind of man that mentored teenagers. But now...now he loved the kid. Loved having him around and loved working with him and watching him recover and get back to the person he'd been before and…

Tony just loved him.

Peter had finally been cleared. This had been after extensive testing by Helen, close observation by Sam, and a session in the gym with Tony who had watched him closely for any kind of fatigue or difficulty moving or focusing or literally anything he could use to keep Peter from putting himself in danger again.

But Peter was Spiderman. Tony could be there, and he could make sure Peter had a suit that would do everything it could to protect him, and he could monitor him and put as many protections in place as he could think of. But he couldn't stop Peter from being Spiderman. And if he thought about it, he really didn't want to. The world needed Spiderman, just as much as Tony needed Peter.

He joined the boy in his room after a few minutes, the two of them moving to the balcony, the Iron Man armor covering Tony as he wrapped an arm briefly around Peter's shoulders, giving a quick squeeze.

"You sure about this, Pete?" He asked, knowing the answer even as he asked.

"Yeah." For a moment, there was just a bit of hesitation, but then Peter grinned and grabbed his mask, pulling it over his eyes, the two of them stepping forward. In one fluid movement, the kid leaped onto the railing, balancing there easily as he swung his legs over and sat down, feet pressed against the bars. For a moment, the two of them stared out at the city, and Tony couldn't help but notice that Peter wasn't looking at the skyline...he was looking down.

Tony knew that this was the next step...that the kid needed to build up his confidence again, especially after a fall like the one he'd had. Hell, Tony wouldn't have blamed the kid if he'd never wanted to go web-slinging again. Peter was braver than him, though. More importantly, he was Spiderman. A hero. And Tony had accepted that. But he also knew that he wasn't ready for Peter to jump off of a building by himself just yet. Not without some backup. That's where he came in.

Dressed in full armor, he climbed on the railing to sit beside Peter, both of them breathing in the quiet afternoon, shoulders touching. Finally, Tony broke the silence. "You sure you're ready for this?"

Even Sam was impressed with the speed of the boy's recovery. Three months after a fall that, by all rights, very well could have killed him, Peter was walking and talking just as well as before. He could run on the treadmill without breaking a sweat, and could once more talk Tony's ear off, which he was thrilled about. Seriously, Tony thought he could listen to Peter talk all day. Every time he started to think that some peace and quiet might be nice, he remembered those long hours spent at the boy's side, praying that the kid would open his eyes and say something...anything. He remembered wondering if the kid would ever wake up...or even if he did, if he would even be the same kid.

So yeah, he was happy to listen to the kid prattle on about going back to school and his friends and his web formula and literally anything else as the two worked in the lab or watched movies. Tony had even started calling the kid after he was sure he was out of school, using the excuse that he wanted to make sure Peter wasn't patrolling. To be honest, though, he just wanted to hear the kid talk. Wanted to make sure that he really was okay.

But part of him worried about Peter jumping back into his vigilanteism a bit too soon.

"I...yeah." Peter murmured, not sounding nearly as confident as he had when he'd first jumped into the car after Tony had picked him up at school. "I'm ready."

"Because you don't have to be." Tony continued softly. "You've worked so hard, kid, but if you need a couple more days, no one would blame you." It was true. No one would blame him. No one would think any less of the boy for being afraid, not after a fall like the one he'd had.

The boy took a deep breath, then nodded to himself. "I'm ready," Peter told him, voice a little more sure. "Just…" He hesitated, looking over at Tony, then spoke a little more softly, voice hopeful but also a little afraid. "You'll...you'll catch me, right? If...if the web…"

Tony felt his eyes heat up as his heart clenched. This kid. This kid that he loved so much and that was literally a fourteen-year-old superhero...who had gotten superpowers and had decided to use them to help people...he would do anything for this kid. "I'll catch you," Tony swore, faceplate up, meaning it with everything he had. Reaching out, he gripped Peter's shoulder. "I'll be right beside you the whole time, I promise."

Peter nodded, his hesitant smile growing just a little. "Okay." He whispered, looking down one more time, fingers gripping the railing so tightly that he thought it might be warping a little.

"Let's go, kiddo. Leap of faith."

As if those words had been all the encouragement he needed, as if all he'd needed to know was that Tony would catch him if he fell, Peter turned to him with a grin, pulling his mask the rest of the way down so that it covered his face, Spiderman looking up at Iron Man for just a moment.

And then, Peter jumped, Tony less than a breath behind him.

The End